Happy New Year from Ballochbuie Forest

Bertie and Gail wish all our friends a Happy New Year!

May your 2020 be full of beauty, peace and tranquillity, like an ancient Caledonian pinewood bathed in soft mid-winter sunshine. 

(Not for us, the mayhem of the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration!) 

Safety moment with Bertie in Ballochbuie

As lots of my friends in the Northern Hemisphere have been dealing, to various degrees, with snow and ice this week, I feel a 'Cold Weather Safety Moment' is appropriate today.

Yesterday Gail and I ventured inland to Ballochbuie Forest (part of the Queen's Balmoral estate) where the snow was deep and powdery.

Too deep in fact for us to be able to complete our planned route, but we did manage a short walk along the River Dee.

You see in the picture below that the river looks much narrower than usual, as ice has formed along the banks. It's hard to make out exactly where the solid earth stops and the ice starts, as it's all covered in snow. 

Since I am (mostly) a Good Boy these days, I do not have wear a lead on country walks, unless we are near farm livestock or roads. However, you will notice that here beside the river I am attached to Gail by my 'walking string'. 

This is because, in addition to being a 'Good Boy' I am also, at the age of nearly nine, a 'Sensible Chap', and am comforted by the thought that Gail will will keep me safely away from venturing on to any treacherously thin ice and falling into the fast flowing water.   

It later occurred to me that I would have been even safer had I been wearing my harness (the one normally reserved for train journeys through Newcastle).

Away from the river bank, the main hazard is a chilly bum!

Winter at Balmoral (no Corgis in sight)

Contrary to the impression given by calendars featuring the Scottish Highlands, it is rare indeed that our winter weather is conducive to the perfect outing in the mountains.

But just every once in a while, the weather gods permit that ideal combination of blue skies, no wind, enough snow to cover the ground but not too much to make walking difficult, and the right temperature so that the snow is in a pristine  powdery state (neither slushy nor icy). Such was the case this Saturday.

In general it is easy, on days when fine conditions prevail, to persuade Gail to seize the moment (especially when the alternative is shopping for a new oven). And so it was that we headed out first thing to Ballochbuie Forest on the Queen's Balmoral Estate, one of our all time favourite places.

Actually, Gail said something about needing to celebrate that civilisation had more or less survived a year of You Know Who as President...

We first stopped for a wee peek at Crathie Kirk,

but the doors were locked,

and so it was onwards for a four mile romp in the sparkling forest.

I thought we might see some corgis but apparently they are all soft southerners and prefer to stay at Windsor or Sandringham in January. I did encounter a bad tempered spaniel who nearly succeeded in taking a chunk out of my flappy little ear. I was so brave about it that Gail only realised when we returned home that I had sustained a very small cut.

On the topic of the Royal Family, I confess I am still holding out hope that I might be adopted by Harry and Meghan. They seem such a lovely couple. A few weeks ago, they even chose Nottingham for their first joint official visit. Such excellent taste! Although I am not aware they have been to Balmoral yet. I hope it is not politically incorrect to point out that my colouring (a mixture of black and white, with reddish furs on my head) would make me the perfect modern Royal Mascot for this particular duo?

PS Thank you for all your suggestions for boots to protect my sometimes sensitive paws. I'm afraid I live with a human who is indecisive about these matters so it will probably be summer before she has placed an order...

There's nothing better…?

So, now we are settled back in Scotland, I decided it would be a good idea to treat Gail to a day out in the hills, to spend some quality time together.

OK, I admit it (you'll have guessed anyway). Being a canny wee laddie, I did have an ulterior motive.

The time was right to remind my dear human that she lives in an incomparably beautiful country with - let's not be modest here - with an exceptionally adorable dog.

I happen to know that Ballochbuie Forest, at the western end of the Queen's Balmoral Estate, is one of Gail's very favourite places.

And I knew it would be looking particularly stunning this spring Saturday, under sunny blue skies and with the mountains still capped with snow.

I led Gail along the track through the heather.

And allowed her a stop for coffee while I did a little exploring on my own.

At one point I tried my paw at deer stalking, but returned to Gail as soon as I realised she was distressed by my absence.

Oh gosh you can't believe how good I was being.

I even voluntarily cleaned my paws in the river Dee, just before we returned to the car.

I don't think Gail will be wanting to abandon me again for foreign parts any time soon, do you?